The police have arrested 25 persons of Hindu Rashtra Sena (HRS) of whom 17 have been charged with murder of Mohsin Shaikh, an IT graduate, who was bludgeoned to death on Monday after protests over morphed pictures of Bal Thackeray and Chhatrapati Shivaji went viral on social networking
sites.

While two among the 17 persons accused of killing Shaikh are juvenile, those arrested by police are mostly college going youths. The police are also in the process of compiling details about the HRS, said Pune police chief Satish Matur. “You have to compile enough documents backed by enough evidence before the proposal is sent (to ban any group). It is in process,” said Mathur.

Shaikh, 28, was returning home on Monday evening when around 25 members of the right wing group came on bikes, blocked his way in Hadapsar on the outskirts of Pune, took him off his bike and hit him on the head with hockey sticks and stones.

Shaikh’s death sparked tension in the area, forcing the police to clamp curfew for 12 hours when the situation eased out. Shaikh’s cousin, who was accompanying him, escaped unhurt after he fled from the spot while the two others, Ameen Shaikh, 30, and Ijaz Yusuf Bagwan, 25, sustained injuries.

' Repercussions to FB post natural'

BJP MP from Pune, Anil Shirole said on Thursday that though the murder of a Muslim techie allegedly by members of a Hindutva group in Pune was unfortunate, it was “natural” that there would be repercussions to a FB post that was derogatory towards Shivaji and Bal Thackeray. The techie had no connection with the derogatory post.